


Hiding in Plain Sight

by MiaBrown



Series: this whole damn city thinks it needs you (but not as much as I do) [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Identity Reveal, Love Confessions, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows, minor lila salt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28075119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaBrown/pseuds/MiaBrown
Summary: "You're in love with a mask, Chat Noir.""I'm in love with the girl under the mask, M'lady. I only haven't searched her out because I knew you didn't wish it."It was silly of her to think Adrien could mean that. Still, she couldn’t help herself."Then find me, Kitty. Prove it. You have my permission."
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: this whole damn city thinks it needs you (but not as much as I do) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056482
Comments: 50
Kudos: 684





	Hiding in Plain Sight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InkyCoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyCoffee/gifts).



> Very happy birthday, Lou! I hope your day is just as wonderful as you are! <3 (And thank you for the prompt!)
> 
> A million thanks to [Khanofallorcs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khanofallorcs/pseuds/Khanofallorcs) and [MiniNoire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNoire/pseuds/MiniNoire) for beta reading!

"You're in love with a mask, Chat Noir," Marinette told her partner with a sigh. 

She sat beside him on the edge of a rooftop; and while Chat Noir stared out to the setting sun that painted the whole horizon to pink and orange, Marinette hung her head and intently stared at her lap, where her fingers kept fidgeting. 

She wished it wasn’t true, she really did, but there were things that just couldn’t be changed. Chat Noir had never once shown romantic interest in Marinette. Neither had Adrien Agreste. 

And since the fateful moment when Marinette discovered that this was only natural, because the two boys were one and the same, her certainty about her previous statement only increased. If Adrien really had been in love with her, wouldn’t he have approached her civilian identity too? And, more importantly, wouldn’t he have already figured out who she really was? He was so close to her, both in and out of their costumes, that if he really loved her, surely he would have solved the mystery of her identity by now.

But in all honesty, maybe it was for the better that he didn’t. If Marinette could fathom a rejection more hurtful than Adrien’s, it was Chat’s. After all, despite being unaware of her real name, he was the person who knew her the best in the whole wide world. She didn’t think she could bear to hear it from him that she wasn’t good enough. 

"I'm in love with the girl under the mask, M'lady,” she heard Adrien’s calm voice and finally dared to lift her eyes to meet his soul-searching gaze. “I only haven't searched her out because I knew you didn't wish it."

Marinette’s heart throbbed against her chest intently and she felt her mouth run dry at his words. Could he know…? But no, this wasn't more than wishful thinking on her part. He couldn’t know who she was. 

The reveal of his identity was due to an accident, and when they discussed it, they both agreed that it didn’t have to have any implications regarding hers. He promised her she could hold onto her secret as long as she wanted, so it was foolish of her to hope that somehow he knew. That he was only restraining himself for her sake, but he could figure her out whenever he felt like it. 

But despite knowing better, his words still made her wish everything would be like that. Simple. His auspicious words made her wish he’d know her identity and he could finally see her — _really_ see her! 

She felt stupid for hoping that by a simple reveal his impression would change about her civillian self. That she could see the lovesick gaze with which he looked at Ladybug as Marinette, too. That his emotions would stay intact for her, even when she wore silly pyjama tops and rambled about fashion trends.

She felt stupid but she couldn’t help dreaming. Not when he looked at her with those beautiful, hopeful eyes. 

Marinette sighed again and tore her gaze apart from him, looking out across the rooftops. "Then find me, Kitty. Prove it. You have my permission."

“Are you serious? Do I have your permission to search you out?” Adrien asked, leaning forward excitedly to attract her attention. 

His tail was no more than a piece of clothing, it really shouldn’t have been arranged in the shape of a heart behind him on the concrete, but it was. And even if it was, Marinette really should not have found it as adorable as she did.

“Yes, you do,” she laughed, because even if she made them in the heat of the moment, Marinette was not the kind of person to back out of promises. “Come, find me, Kitty!” she said with a smirk, flicking the bell hanging from his neck. 

“And what about your identity?” he asked warily, raising his eyebrows. 

“If you can find me, you deserve to know,” she shrugged with a sad smile, leaning back on her hands behind her back. 

If he followed his heart in the search, like he always did with everything that was important to him, Marinette didn’t think she had to worry about her identity. 

Adrien squirmed in place with visible excitement before flashing her a Chesire grin. “It’s a deal, M’lady!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and suppressed a smirk that tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Then all we have left to do is to come up with a secret code.”

“A secret code?” he blinked.

“That’s elementary, my dear Chaton. We need a code phrase by which I’d instantly know that you figured me out,” she teased. “Something ridiculous enough that you don’t accidentally drop it in a casual conversation.”

“And how would you know it, if I did drop it?” he asked slowly, a self-satisfied smirk spreading on his face.

“Well, I mean-” Marinette tried to backtrack but it was too late.

“You wouldn’t know, unless we _have_ casual conversations outside your mask!” he declared victoriously. 

“Even if we did, you know half of Paris,” Marinette shrugged, taking her lower lip between her teeth. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“If you say so, Bugaboo,” he practically sing-songed, leaning into her personal space with an adorable grin plastered all across his face. “But I have a plan ready.”

* * *

It wasn’t ten whole minutes ago when Marinette arrived home after patrol. To take her mind off of the peculiar situation she just got herself into, she was busy watching a video about how the direction in which water spins in the sink depends on which hemisphere someone is on, when a soft knock could be heard on the skylight leading to her balcony. Swiftly after the knock, a familiar face appeared at the window. 

Marinette’s breath hitched and her mind and heart jump-started at the same time to the sight of Chat Noir. Did it really not take him more than a few minutes to solve the mystery of her identity? That didn’t seem very likely, but what else was she supposed to think. He couldn’t have figured her out long ago and kept the information from her until now, could he?

Marinette’s mind was buzzing with possibilities as she climbed up on her bed to open the hatch with trembling hands and let in her partner.

He wasted no time, jumping down to her and instantly sitting on his knees in front of her. He took hold of her hands and squeezed them tightly between his own as he looked her in the eyes with an imploring look.

“Marinette, I need your help!”

“My-my help?” she stuttered, trying her best not to lose herself in the depths of his gaze. 

“Your help.” He nodded seriously. “You are the only one who can help me. Because you see...” he trailed off, making Marinette lean forward with a searching gaze while her heart throbbed in her throat faster and faster. “I need to find Ladybug.”

“You- What?” she recoiled, blinking.

“She gave me her permission to find her civilian self and she told me if I can find her, she’d come on a date with me! Which is so awesome, right? But I need your help! You’re the only friend I can trust with this. Can you help me find her? Please?” 

He was looking at her with his pleading kitten eyes, but if it wasn’t for common decency, Marinette might have strangled him on the spot. 

She couldn’t believe the audacity! That was _so not_ what had happened! 

Not like… she could tell him that without giving away her identity.

Casting a piercing stare at him, Marinette freed her hands from his grasp with a forceful tug. “Uh-huh, yeah, sure,” she spat as she climbed down to the floor.

She could _not_ believe this oblivious boy. Did he seriously just ask her to help him uncover herself? Of course, why wouldn’t he?! He was such _good friends_ with Marinette! Albeit, apparently not good enough friends to stop him from lying straight to her face. (Which, honestly, was uncharacteristic of Adrien. A fact that Marinette most likely would have noticed if she wasn’t so mad.)

She just couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy. He was as far as it got from perceptive, running to her civilian identity for help first thing when the game was on. Not in a million years could he discover her identity without her help!

Marinette blew out a big huff of air as she set foot on the parquet and intertwined her arms over her chest. Adrien was clearly lost without her help, desperate even, so it was only fair that as his _good friend_ , she helped him out. 

She pushed aside the lurking feeling of disappointment in the depths of her belly — until now part of her still held onto the hope that Adrien would recognize and find her, because he truly was in love with the girl under the mask — in favour of plastering a mischievous smirk on her face. If whatever she did, the outcome for her would be nothing but heartbreak, she could at least have a little fun in the meantime. 

She turned on her heel and stared back up at her partner, who now sat on the edge of the bed with his legs thrown over the railing and watched her with anticipation, waiting for her answer. 

“You want my help finding Ladybug?” Marinette asked in a saccharine voice. “You know what? I’ll help you, Kitty!”

“I knew I could count on you!” Adrien perked up instantly. He pushed himself off of the railing and landed in front of Marinette in a graceful squat. When he stood up, his face was only centimeters away from the girl’s. “Let’s get to work then, Princess!”

“Let’s get to work!” she echoed, maintaining the eye contact. Armed with more knowledge out of the two of them as she was, she felt more than capable of keeping the situation under control. 

Adrien didn’t bother to step out of her personal space as a Cheshire-grin, that seemed to mirror hers perfectly, grew on his face. “We’ll need some supplies.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ve got everything that you need,” Marinette said, winking as she started to her desk area where she kept everything that in some shape or form could be labelled a supply.

“I have no doubt about that!” She heard his playful remark before he listed all that he needed. Which, as disappointing as that was, was plain office supplies. 

Armed with plain paper and different kinds of pens and markers, the duo took their places on Marinette’s chaise. While Adrien settled in a cross-legged position and started to fumble with the paper, Marinette sat down in front of him, supporting her chin on her hand as she asked skeptically, “so, Ladybug said she’d go on a date with you if you find out her civilian identity, huh?”

“Yeah, isn’t she amazing?” he sighed dreamily, earning a snort from Marinette that he seemed to generously ignore. “I bet she doesn’t think I can do it, but let me tell you, I’m closer than she thinks,” he winked. 

“I can imagine.” Marinette rolled her eyes. She could have enlightened her delusional partner but that was not part of either of their arrangements. Furthermore, where was the fun in that? “So spill, what have you got on her?”

“She gave a pretty big hint to start with — nice of her isn’t it?” He smiled up at her sweetly before starting to take notes on the sheets that lay in front of him. “She said I know her civilian identity, which narrows down the options. So, after composing a comprehensive list, it’s enough to pick out the most brilliant, caring, wonderful girl among them! That’s going to be her! ”

“A plausible, down to Earth method. I like those,” Marinette deadpanned. She couldn’t believe how thick this boy’s rose-coloured glasses were.

“Well, obviously, I’ll need to test the most likely candidates,” he stated matter-of-factly. 

“Self-explanatory.” Marinette smirked. “Let’s hear, what do we work with!”

“Well,” Adrien cleared his throat before taking a look over the list in front of him. “The first civilian that comes to mind is obviously you — I mean, you fit all the criteria: brave, selfless, amazing, an everyday Ladybug according to some.” Marinette was too busy hiding her blush that just sprung to life on her cheeks to notice the disbelieving chuckle Adrien made before collecting himself and going on with a straight face and a sweet smile. “However, since the Multimouse incident we know that it’s impossible for you to be Ladybug, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, forcing the resemblance of collectedness on herself. “I couldn’t _possibly_ be Ladybug and Multimouse at the same time. Who would be able to come up and execute such a convoluted plan in the span of a few minutes and get away with it,” she said sarcastically, wishing she could bang her head against the wall instead. 

“I’m so happy we agree on this!” Adrien beamed. 

Marinette watched with a frown as he crossed out the string — presumably her name — on the first line of the list. 

“Okay, so what do you think about Alya?” he asked the next thing. 

“Alya?” 

Marinette could only blink at him in surprise. And she hadn’t even heard the majority of his theories yet. Which ranged from astonishingly accurate despite missing the whole point— 

“Alya. I know you two are pretty tight so you probably think it would be almost impossibly hard for her to keep being Ladybug a secret from you, but I think she has potential. She would make an excellent hero!”

“Okay, if not her then what do you think of Kagami? She’s confident and a force to be reckoned with, just like Ladybug. I think she could pull it off, or if she isn’t Ladybug, I’m sure they would be good friends!”

—to absolutely ridiculous. 

“It has to be Nathalie! You know, the secretary of Gabriel Agreste! I’m _paw_ sitive, it can’t be a coincidence that she has never been akumatized before! No, what do you mean she wouldn’t have the time and she’s more of a villain type anyway?”

“I’m just saying that from what I've heard, Ladybug really wasn't keen on giving the Snake Miraculous to Luka. What if that was because they are the same person?”

“Are you sure it can’t be your mother, Marinette? I’m pretty sure, Ladybug has her eyes.”

As more and more candidates were eliminated, Adrien came up with increasingly extreme scenarios that made Marinette groan and her sides shake with laughter at the same time. 

By the time they were nearing the end of the list, she even entertained the thought that he gave up on uncovering Ladybug’s identity altogether and only kept on coming up with deliberately nonsense ideas for the sake of entertainment. 

“How long even is that list?” Marinette asked, wiping down a tear of joy sitting in the corner of her eye after listening to the justification for the most recent unlikely candidate.

“Only a few more to go!” Adrien declared cheerfully with a somewhat devilish grin. “Actually, I think she’s pretty likely one.”

“You said that about the last ten,” Marinette rolled her eyes. “Who’s that?” 

“Lila Rossi!”

“What?!” Marinette shot up from her lying position on the carpet, all lightheartedness forgotten in the blink of an eye.

“It’s quite likely if you think about it. She fits the age criteria, she’s determined and resourceful, and she’s often “out of town”. I bet it’s only an excuse so she can better concentrate on her superhero duties!” he listed his arguments with a lop-sided smirk.

“You must be joking,” Marinette said, bewildered by even the idea.

“No, no, Lila must most definitely be Ladybug! Pretending to dislike your civilian alter ego so no one suspects a thing? What a power move!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “I can’t believe I actually figured her out in the span of a few hours! This is wonderful! Now I just have to go ahead and confirm her identity!”

“Huh?” Marinette asked in a rather well-spoken manner. She couldn’t help it, she couldn’t concentrate on being articulate when Adrien was speaking such nonsense that sent the room spinning with her uncontrollably. “And... how exactly do you plan on achieving that?”

“I’m going to ask her out, of course!” he declared with a dazzling smile. 

“You _what?!_ You can’t be serious, Adrien!” Marinette blurted out in her blinding rage, jumping up from the floor to point an accusatory finger at the boy. “I can’t actually believe you! You of all people should know what kind of person she really is! She could never even come _close_ to being Ladybug!”

“Oh, I know exactly what kind of person she is. Just like I know what kind of person _you_ are, M’lady,” he said with a satisfied smirk, leaning into her personal space for the upteempth time tonight.

“Then why the hell are you going to as- wait, _what?!_ ” Marinette recoiled as she tried to make sense of the nickname. 

However, mentally running over her previous outburst cleared the confusion. Calling Chat Noir ‘Adrien’ was a foolproof method to give away her identity, wasn’t it? 

Oh well. 

“I told you I was closer than you thought,” Adrien said uncharacteristically sheepishly compared to his previous behaviour all night. “For the record though, I never believed Lila could be Ladybug. Or anyone else of all the people I just listed.”

He stood up, extending his hand and offered Marinette the list he kept editing so diligently all night. She took the paper, finally seeing it from close enough to read the names that were written and crossed out with various colours.

 _Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,_ it read over and over again.

“Apart from you, no one could be Ladybug.”

Marinette’s knees went weak, her eyes teary, and she was sure her heart was pounding faster than was healthy. 

“How-How did you know?” she managed to choke out, tearing her eyes away from the list to look Adrien in the eye.

“After realizing I was in love with my very good friend, it wasn’t too hard to connect the dots,” he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as a light pink blush tinted his face behind the mask. “I just had to make sure I wasn’t imagining things because a coincidence like this honestly felt too good to be true.”

“You are… In love with Marinette? That gave me away?” Marinette let out an unbelieving, breathy laugh. She felt her world spinning with her again, but this time, she didn’t mind it.

“I told you, I love the girl behind the mask,” Adrien smiled sheepishly. However, his lovesick expression swiftly changed as he put up his hands apologetically. “But don’t worry! I know this doesn’t change your feelings and it won’t change our relationship either, I swear! I can keep it professional! I can stop the flirting too; you don’t need to hear it anymore, and I won’t call you Bugaboo-”

“Please do!” Marinette blurted out, letting the piece of paper fall to capture his hands between hers. “I mean, please don’t! I mean-” she paused to take a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

She had so much to tell him. She wanted to share everything with him on the spot. Everything about her, him, _them_. But there were certain things that had to come before anything else and that was wonderful. 

When Marinette opened her eyes again, her gaze was met with Adrien’s curious one. 

“The reason I freaked out about the possibility of you thinking Lila could be Ladybug, of you asking her out, was because _I_ wanted to go on a date with you,” she confessed finally, with a pink blush on her cheeks but without missing a beat. “Because I have been in love with you longer than I could even remember a time before that.”

“You were- You are- Seriously?” Adrien asked in childish excitement. 

Marinette let out a giggle and nodded, which only made the beam on Adrien’s face shine all the more brighter. His hands found her waist swiftly and lifted her up in the air, spinning her around with a laugh. When he placed her steadily back on her feet he leaned his forehead against hers.

“How lucky can I get for _you_ to love me?” he sighed dreamily.

“How lucky can _I_ get for you to love me back?” she whispered back.

Adrien only shook his head with a disbelieving chuckle. “Why did you never tell me?”

“I was afraid that I’d only get my hopes up because you have never seen me like that. At least, not when I was without the mask,” she said, biting her lower lip. 

“Oh, Marinette, I thought you were more clever than to buy the weak lies I kept telling myself about my feelings for you,” Adrien smirked.

“Evidently, I am not,” she returned the smirk, intertwining her fingers with his. “But at least we match.”

“That we do,” he agreed, never taking down his lovesick gaze of her. “My only regret about how things played out, though, is that I never got to use the secret code I came up with! It was a work of genius,” he pouted dramatically.

“You really want to say it, don’t you?” Marinette laughed, rolling her eyes playfully. 

His secret code was so out of place of any normal conversation. It was so ridiculous. It was so perfect. It was so _him_.

“Absolutely, M’lady.” 

“Go ahead then. I’m all ears,” she giggled. 

“So, _do I look like a killer to you?_ ” he wiggled his eyebrows, satisfied.

“Yes, you kill my patience!” Marinette countered with a smirk, grabbing his bell and pulling him down for a kiss at last.


End file.
